Emerging trends in ICT education

1. Emerging trends in ICT education Meoli Kashorda, Ph.D., MIEEE, MIET Professor, Faculty of Information Technology Strathmore University Emerging trends in ICT education

2. Agenda • Terminology • IT or ICT? Used interchangeably • What is driving demand for ICT education in Kenya • ICT industry performance? • Knowledge economy? • ICT for Development (ICT4D)? • Analyzing ICT education trends using a layered approach • Some professional accreditation issues Emerging trends in ICT education

3. What are Information Technologies? • Big IT vs. Small it terms • Big IT accepted by accreditation boards, IT professional associations, and academic community • Big IT – An Umbrella term • Computer science, information systems, computer engineering and software engineering, and electronic engineering (including telecommunications) • Small it – Emerging IT degree programs • No global accreditation standards yet! Emerging trends in ICT education

4. ICT degrees in Kenya Emerging trends in ICT education

5. Developing IT Workforce or IT professionals? • Both IT workforce and IT professionals required • IT workforce • Universities in Kenya now offer general IT courses • IT professionals • Developed in specialized IT degree programs (IT, EE, CS, IS) Emerging trends in ICT education

6. What is driving demand for ICT professional education in Kenya? • Demand by the students? • Career Perceptions, Peer pressure, IT is “cool” or real market data? • Demand by local ICT industry? • Growth of telecoms sector, Local IT systems, Global demand for ICT graduates? • How are universities responding? • Using market analysis data? Regional or Global demands? Students perceptions? Emerging trends in ICT education

7. Convergence of telecommunications & computing • Convergence of applications and services • Networked applications everywhere • Convergence of industries • Telecommunications, broadcasting, and computing industries • Convergence of regulation • See proposed Kenya ICT bill • Convergence of degree programs or greater specialization? Emerging trends in ICT education

8. Source: World Bank Institute Emerging trends in ICT education

9. Knowledge Economy Index Emerging trends in ICT education

10. So What ICT degree program is best? • What advice for students? • Bias of faculty? newspaper ads? Quality of programs? JAB • What advice to universities? • No market analysis data, no explicit ICT education policy • What degree programs? • What advice to government and industry? • What is our ICT capacity? What should it be? Emerging trends in ICT education

11. Use the Open Networking Model Emerging trends in ICT education

12. Interconnection layer education • Layers 1 & 2 of the OSI or Internet Layered models • Supports classical telecommunication services (POTS, ISDN, Mobile, ADSL and associated data pipes) + computing hardware • Electronic / computer engineering programs cover Interconnection layer knowledge elements • Very specialized labs and faculty required • High demand because of infrastructure expansion in Kenya • Industry-university partnerships and linkages essential Emerging trends in ICT education

13. Internet technology will dominate all internetworking at this layer Teaching the TCP/IP protocol suite does not need advanced equipment Network management and new protocols for voice and video services (VoD and VoIP) Computer science, computer engineering, and electronic engineering, IT/IS degree programs necessary Is Cisco certification necessary? Are our University qualifications credible? Internetworking layer Emerging trends in ICT education

14. Middleware • Interoperability will continue to be very important for different applications • Network Security issues • Distributed processing environment (grid computing) • Knowledge acquired in computer science, software engineering and some IT/IS degree programs. • Advanced programming techniques and environments required. Emerging trends in ICT education

15. Networked Applications • Applications layer represents the greatest opportunity for Kenya! • Which graduates will create the applications for developing countries? • Computer science, Information systems, IT, and software engineering, and electronic engineering graduates? • Are our institutions ready? Emerging trends in ICT education

16. Innovations in mobile applications in high demand in Africa Pre-paid service an African innovation Emerging SMS applications Mobile Internet applications Mobile e-commerce and e-learning applications Applications in tourism and agriculture? High level of software development proficiency required Certification of software developers and software houses! Incubate software development companies Mobile and wireless applications Emerging trends in ICT education

17. What are additional IT graduate exit requirements? • Communication skills – oral and written • This is a challenge globally • Basic business and management skills • Economics, accounting and finance • Business organizations and planning • Team building and Ethical practices • Project design, implementation, and management skills • Based on current needs – mobile computing, networking, new software environments, CAD. Emerging trends in ICT education

18. Are our graduates and universities ready? • Do we have world-class specialized ICT labs? • Do we have world class ICT faculty • Anecdotal data suggests there is a severe shortage of doctoral-level ICT faculty • Are our campuses fully networked? • What about low Internet speeds? Emerging trends in ICT education

19. How will ICT students be learning in future? • Global Internet essential for degree and life-long learning • Expect increased use of asynchronous learning networks and e-learning platforms • Increased use of CAD and simulation environments • Increased use of Virtual labs (see See the MIT iLabs project) • More IT students will focus on the upper layers • More jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities Emerging trends in ICT education

20. Current IT faculty and Infrastructure challenges • Limited active IT faculty pool in Kenya • Lack of sufficient number of PhDs in IT in Kenya • IT faculty are “portable” and are in “high demand” globally • High cost of building and maintaining specialized IT labs to support IT programs • Universities in the US are investing millions of dollars in laboratory facilities!! • Adopt the Indian Centers of Excellence Model? Emerging trends in ICT education

21. Networked Readiness Index 2004 and 2005 Ranks But quality of ICT graduates must be similar For competitiveness! Source: World Economic Forum ICT Reports Emerging trends in ICT education

22. The E-campus innovation • It is an information systems enabled campus • High degree of e-readiness for developing IT workforce and professionals • Information systems = Information Technology + People + Processes • Networked Applications for teaching, learning and educational administration • World-class learning environment low NRI notwithstanding! Emerging trends in ICT education

23. Quality and professional accreditation of ICT degrees • International IT educational standards • Professional bodies accredit IT departments (e.g., IEEE, IEE, ACM) • Not aware of any EE & CS programs in Kenya with international accreditation • Professional accreditation necessary for global IT quality assurance • CHE provides institutional accreditation for private universities only Emerging trends in ICT education

24. Opportunities for ICT graduates in Kenya and Africa! • Kenyan and African customized applications do not yet exist? • E-government applications need to be customized for Kenya and other countries • Customized applications in agriculture, tourism and education will be in high demand • Development environments will be setup in the government and in the private sector • Demand for IT professionals with application development skills will increase • Local/Global ICT jobs for the well prepared! Emerging trends in ICT education

25. END Thank You! Emerging trends in ICT education